Cushioning device for automobiles and like vehicles.



F. 0. KILGORE. zzvIIII; IoII AUTOMOBILES AND LIKE VEHICLES. APPLTPATION FILED JAN 10.1910.

CUSHIGNING V12 /ff prf/Kan 7..,5, M

Patented Oct. 21, 1913.

'Tiff JIM Jui@ invifrnn s'rnriis cUsHioNING DEVICE Een AU'relvioiiLns Specicatton ef Letters atent.

Application tiled January it, 19H5, Sera' Ne.

To all whom it may conce/rn Be it known that LFnnnnmoii @.Krnoonn, s citizen of the United States, residing in Somerville, county ot Middlesex, and State of h'assacliusetts, have invented an mprovement in Cusliioning Devices for Anti mobiles and like Vehicles, of which the foilowing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts. l

This invention relates to a cushioning device or ap aretus especially adapted for use on antoine iles and is an improvement u on the cushioning devices shown and descri ed in U. s. Patents No. 889,619 and No. 923,858 granted to me J une 2, 1908 and J une 8, 1909 respectively.

The present invention has for one of its objects to simplif and improve the cushioningr device, whereby the device can be easily and quickly adjusted to cars having ditfen ent spring power or strength of springs which support the car bod which adjustment can be conveniently e ected in a minimum time after the cushioning device has been applied t0 the automobile.

The invention further has for its object to provide a cushioning'device with which the `car body spring ma oe left racticaiiy 'free to move downwardl under tje load in the car, but which is resisted in its u iward or recoil movement, thereby avoidi t new ing the occupants of the car up o of the seats on the upward movement of the car body springs.

rliese and other features of this invention -ivill be pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 represents a sufficient portion of au automobile provided with a cushioning device embodying this invention to enable it to be understood. Fig. 2, a longitudinal section on an enlarged scale of the cushioning device shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3, a siinilm' section on a sin-aller sca-le of the device in its closed or connected position, andigs. aud i details in section on en enlarged scale to De referred to.

The cushioning device forming lthe suliject. oia this invention is in the main the saine as shown and described in the patents referred to, except. as to features, which will hc hereinafter pointed out,

Referring to the drawings, a represents a cyliniliieni .inclniisig if," ends the 'xcd head c, contain, ton hnving ite rou f heed and packing-f lis end to 'the heed 5'/ of l is open et its lf'ffsver e and slide upon the c,

der a is designed to be i body-supporting spring it), er it. may ie :in axle ef tie cer :fini insy be designated the stationery member et the device, and cylinder ."L ifs signed te be seni ed the car body 1Q so :is to move may be dfsaig'neted f the device. lie cyi'" der may we pret5 erubly wili contain ivi 1n it a di ard or hood i4, sui'i'oiiznling' the piste secured at. its upper end the pi and nt its lower end te the head c.

inde/r f1. muy be' provided with aii'it l i rings or blocks i?, which contact with the inner side of the eyiiider k.

The @vlinder is made and siiiiicient to eniihe cf cai passage n; be eil formed in it, f t

ich extends trein the end of the thereof and interior et the r *22, iocateii ends oi' the piston a i rinsed air spares er site ends of the saine.

pz age 'Zti may be gi chamber in ivi/i liv-:ated a. v; shown as a red provided at its otei ,with n handle and above snif with sci'ew-tflirearis 2i, which engage eer sponding screw-threads on the inner cir winter-fence of the faire chamber 20. The valve 220 is made long enough to coopern ate with the port 2l, so as to control the passage of air from one side of the. piston to the other. "Twice, the valve extends lliy isrge noie er .ills a peri'. 151i, which is adan 21 as to the cyiinder It will be or turning the valve rod '2:26, the port the neil of n that by piirtieily rotating in cylinder a may be closed or 1raive 40 .is

car body springs.

or partially closed, so as to regulate -fiw :low of air from the upper part of the a-:zcr into the lower part of the cylinder, .mi vice versa, and thereby adjust the air cushion to the strength of the car body springs l0. The chamber 30 in the end of ib valve rod constitutes in itself a valve chau'iber, with which cooperates a valve 40 i. a rod 4l, having its lower end extended au opening or hole 42, extended from tlorn of the valve chamber 30 and conng a guideway for the said rod in its mm ement. The rod 4l is made of sufficient cccfi to engage the end wall 44 of the r 20, when the said rod has been infused to open wide the valve 40, and the hole 42 is made o1 sufficient length to prevent the. rod-il from Taming withdrawn therefrom before it engages-lie end tva-1144. The preferably made smaller than the width of the chamber 30, so that the :mmh of the chamber will not be entirely closed when the valve is in its lowermost ,mon with its rod resting on the bottom l of the hole 4&2, as represented in Figs. ".2 and ll, thereby allowing a restricted opening for theA passage of air from the chamber into the cylinder (1, through the chambers l'o and ports 3l, 2l,

By reference t) the drawings, it will be secu, that, when the piston d is descending in its cylinder as indicated by the arrow 50,

the air in the cylinder below the piston forced oi t through the ports 21, 31, v

into the chamber 30, from which it passes into the chamber and through the port 22 into the cylinder a above the piston. T he air forced ries with it the valve 40 and opens the same wide as represented ijn Figs. 3 and 5, that is, until it uncovers the mouth of the chamber and affords a free passage for the air from the lower to the upper side of the piston. riChis arrangement enables the car body spring to freely respond downward to the motion of the carn On the other hand, when the car body spring recoils or moves upward, the air is 'forced f rom the upper part of the cylinder, through the port- 22 into the chamber 20, thence down in the latter, carrying with it the valve 40, which is moved into the .mouth of the chamber 30 so as to partially close the same, and thereby diminish the quantity of air which can be forced from the upper to the lower end of the `cylinder in a given time, consequently retarding the upward movement of the piston d and of the In this manner, a sudden recoil of the car body springs is avoided, and the disagreeable results of the same to the occupants of the car are likewise avoided, and a. smoother' and easier riding car is obtained.

The valve 40 may be properly designated the recoil valve and while I have shown lone out of the chamber 30 car-` arrangement of the same, which. I may prefer, I do not desire to limit the invention in this respect.

While I may prefer to use the recoil valve in conjunction with the hand-operated valve 220, I do not desire to limit the invention in this respect, as either alone can be used to advantage.

The hand-operated valve can he manipulated after the cushioning device has been applied to the car, as it is only necessary to turn the handle 23 and uncover more or less of the port 2l, in order to adjust the cushioning device to the strength of the car body springs. The packing ring f is securely held in the head c of the cylinder a by an externally threaded ring 60, which engages an internally threaded socket 6l in the said head and coperates with a flange 62 on the packing ring to firmly fasten the packing ring to the cylinder head. The ring is capable of being quickly and easily applied to or removed from its socket, and affords a convenient and for fastening and retaining the packing ring f in place.

I have herein described the invent-ion as embodied in an apparatus employing air, but I do not desire to limit the invention in this respect, as the invention could be used with good results in an apparatus employing a liquid.

jlaims.

l. In an apparatus of the class described, in combination, a cylinder provided with a passage extended longitudinally thereof and having ports separated from each other for connecting said passage with the interior of said cylinder, a valve rod extended into said passave and accessible from outside of said cylinder and provided at' its upper end with a valve chamber having a port capable of registering with one of the ports in said cylinder, a valve rod extended into said valve chamber and provided with a valve coperating with said valve chamber to ali'ord a free passage for the air through the valve chamber in one direction land to restrict the passage of air through the valve chamber in the opposite direction, and a piston in said cylinder coperating with the ports therein, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, in combination, a cylinder provided with a passage extended longitudinally thereof and having ports separated from each other for connecting said passage with the interior of said cylinder, a manually operated valve cooperating With one of said ports to regulate the passage of fluid within the cylinder through said passage, and an automatically operated valve located in said passage and arranged to be bodily moved away from said manually operated Yvalve to permit a free fiow of fluid through the passage in one d1- reliable means rection and to be bodily moved toward said manually operated valve to restrict the flow of fluid through said passage in the opposite direction, said automatic valve being guided in its movement by said manually operated valve, substantially as described,

3. In an apparatus of the class described, in combination, a cylinder' provided with a passage in its walls extended from one end d'5 the cylinder longitudinally toward the other and having ports separated from each other for connecting said passage with the interior of the cylinder, a manually operated valve extended into said passage from the lower end of said cylinder, and a valve located in said passage above the manually operated valve and guided thereby to permit a free flow of the fluid through said passage into the cylinder inone direction and to restrict the flow of the luid in the opposite direction, and a piston in said cylinder, substantially as described.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, in eombinatlon, a cylinder provided with ports near its opposite ends. a passa-ge connecting said ports, a piston in said cylinder, a manually operated valve extended into said passage from one end of the cylinder, and an automatically operated valve located in said passage and guided by the manually operated valve, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERICK O. KILGORE.

lVitnesses t JAS. H. CHURCHILL, J. MURPHY. 

